BOX SCORE | RAPID REACTION WITH HEAD COACH JOSH TAYLOR | HIGHLIGHTS

When and Where: October 26, 2018 – Hooksett, N.H. (Penmen Stadium)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 3, Saint Michael's College 1
Records: SNHU 12-3-2 (8-3-2 NE10), Saint Michael's 4-11-1 (3-9-1 NE10)

Sophomore Nadjib Chibout (Lyon, France) collected a goal and an assist to lead the 19^th-ranked Southern New Hampshire University men's soccer team to a 3-1 Senior Night victory against Saint Michael's College on Friday in the regular-season finale at Penmen Stadium.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Chibout scored for the second time in the last three matches.
• Graduate student Jonathan Cruickshank (Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago) and junior Michael Goncalves (Ludlow, Mass.) also scored goals for the Penmen.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Saint Michael's struck first late in the 16^th minute off a corner service from Matteo Bianchini when Justin D'Orlando sent a header into the back of the net from the right side of the box.
• Southern New Hampshire evened the score midway through the 21^st minute, taking advantage of a free kick from just outside the box after the Purple Knights goalkeeper, Leland Gazo, caught a cross just outside of the box. Cruickshank sent a laser through the Saint Michael's wall in front of the net and just inside the left post.
• The Penmen looked like they would take the lead just over five minutes later when sophomore Tom Marriott (Nottingham, England) rifled a shot past a diving Gazo from the right side of the box, but it caromed off the inside of the far post, before being cleared out of danger.
• The post frustrated the Penmen again early in the 51^st minute, as Chibout ripped a shot from the right of the box that clanged off the far left post. The rebound caromed to redshirt-sophomore Andre Pereira (Cheshire, Conn.), who blasted a shot from the middle of the box, but it was stopped by Gazo.
• SNHU finally went ahead early in the 60^th minute when Marriott sent a long pass up the right sideline before it was touched ahead by Chibout. Chibout tracked down the ball and made a tremendous move to beat Gazo, who had come way out of the box on the right flank, and finished by putting it into the back of the net.
• The Penmen went up, 3-1, in the 69^th minute when junior Jack Gibson (Hartlepool, England) sent a ball into the middle of the box where it was touched down to the left by Chibout, before Goncalves hit a one-timer inside the near post.
• Chibout kept the pressure on the Purple Knights over the last 15 minutes, again hitting the post before forcing Gazo to make a great save to keep it a two-goal contest.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Senior goalkeeper Daniel Milton (Ajax, Ontario) made two saves, while Gazo stopped seven shots.
• The Penmen owned a 25-6 advantage in shots, including 15-3 in the second half.
• Saint Michael's also held a 7-4 edge in corner kicks.

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire, which is ranked 19^th in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Poll, earns the No. 3 seed for the Northeast-10 Championship with the win and will host a quarterfinal match against in-state rival Franklin Pierce University.
• The third-place finish in the NE10 is SNHU's highest since 2015 when it was the top seed.
• The Penmen better their record to 25-3-2 all-time against Saint Michael's, including a perfect 17-0-0 at home.
• Southern New Hampshire improves to 93-14-11 (.835) over its last 118 matches dating back to the beginning of the 2013 National Championship season.
• The Penmen are now 70-8-6 (.869) over their last 84 contests at home, including 8-1-0 at Penmen Stadium.
• Cruickshank, Milton, graduate student Collyns Laokandi (Paris, France), and seniors Alex Satrustegui (Pamplona, Spain), Olafur Einarsson (Esafjordur, Iceland) and Amar Dzelilovic (Manchester, N.H.) were honored in a ceremony prior to the match.

UP NEXT 

• The Penmen are back in action Tuesday, Oct. 30 (7 p.m.) when they play host to sixth-seeded Franklin Pierce in a Northeast-10 Championship quarterfinal matchup at Penmen Stadium.

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